Closure head for applying and securing caps to containers



P. NOFER Feb. 18, 1969 CLOSURE HEAD FOR APPLYING AND SECURING CAPS TO CONTAINERS Filed Dec. 5.; 1966 ,4 Tram/75 United States Patent US. Cl. 53-356 Int. Cl. B65b 7/28, 3/10 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The drawings and specification explain the particular details of a capping chuck or container cap-applying device which includes a cylindrical housing which is open at one end for receiving the cover which is to be applied to a jar or similar container. A feature of the construction is that the housing encloses a cylindrical member which is axially slotted so as to form a plurality of circumferentially arranged segments which carry roller elements or disks which are arranged to engage around the periphery of a cap cover which is to be applied to a container by the chucking head.

In accordance with one arrangement of the invention, each of the segments is provided with a recess having slots to accommodate axles for roller elements which are disposed in the recesses and retained therein by a retaining ring which is secured to the bottom of the housing. The roller elements are then disposed around a circle of a diameter comparable to the diameter of a cap which is to be applied to a container. In addition, to the resilient mounting given to the rollers by the segmental construction of the cylindrical member within the housing, the rollers are biased by a rubber sleeve which is fitted around the cylindrical member and preferably with the addition of a resilient holding ring at the exterior of the rubber sleeve.

The chucking head includes a resiliently mounted disk at its interior which is displaced inwardly against a resilient biasing force when the cover is received in the head. The rollers are arranged so that when operating they roll over the sidewalls of the cover and will not damage the cover with respect to any painting or printing thereon. The rollers may, however, be arranged in accordance with the invention so that they may constrain radially the cover urging its sidewalls against the outside of the containers mouth Wall or its projections. The inventive chuck is particularly applicable for use with a cover having a wall formation formed with a plurality of longitudinally extending ribs around its periphery and having a free end in the shape of a bead or fianging so that said bead may be deformed into a polygonal configuration by the rollers when the cover is applied to a container, and the ribs may come in locally deformed engagement with the bead of the mouth portion of the container.

A modification of the invention is shown wherein instead of the rollers, individual balls are rotatably mounted in hemispherical recesses defined in each segment so that a complete rolling action is effected in respect to the chuck and the associated cover which is to be applied to a container.

Summary of the invention The invention is particularly applicable to the provision of a closure head or chucking device for applying a securing cap or cover to a container having a large opening particularly for containers which are made of a rigid material such as glass, ceramic, plastic or metal.

The invention is an improvement over the prior art particularly in the provision of roller elements or rotatable disks which are carried on separated segmental portions of a chuck cylinder or on a resilient retaining ring. The rollers are arranged to roll over the container cap around the side wall periphery thereof without causing any scratching or abrasion of the cap or wearing off of any printed material or paint thereon.

A further feature of the inventive construction is the fact that the roller elements may be of a size and arrangement such that they will constrain a cover of a particular type into a locally deformed shape so that it may engage the bead or beads on the mouth portion of a container. A cover which is applicable for this purpose will be one which has a plurality of longitudinally extending ribs disposed around the periphery thereof so that by the rotatable elements of the new sealing head the ribs may be brought into locally deformed engagement with a peripheric or thread pitch bead on the mouth portion of the containers and without damaging any dope or finish of the exterior of the cover.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a chucking device or a chuck head which includes an interior cylindrical member having a plurality of segmental portions which are separated as by slitting of the end of the cylinder and wherein each of the segmental portions carries rotatable roller elements, disks, balls or the like and wherein a container cover is adapted to be received Within the cylinder so that the roller elements will roll over the sidewalls of a cover laid onto a container without causing any damage thereto.

A further object of the invention is to provide a chucking head construction which is simple in design, rugged in construction and economical to manufacture.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its use, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the invention.

Brief description of the drawing views In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional and elevational view of a chucking head constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a cover which is applicable for use with a chucking head of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a top plan View of a container indicating the cover which has been applied thereto and which has been locally de-formed by the chucking head of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view similar to FIG. 1 of another embodment of the invention.

Detailed description Referring to the drawings, in particular, the invention embodied therein comprises a chucking head assembly or head piece generally designated 1 which includes a holder or housing member 20 which closes one end of an outer casing or cylinder 7. The holder 20 is provided with a bore 22 in which is slidable a bolt or retaining member 24. The bolt 24 carries a disk 13 at its outer end which is adapted to engage the top of a cover which is received in the chuck headI A spring (not shown) is engaged with the bolt 24 and urges the bolt together with the disk 13 downwardly toward the open end of the chuck housing member 7 and permits inward movement of the disk when the cap is received in the chuck head 1.

In accordance with the invention, a hollow cylinder or chuck ring member 2 is secured to the holder 20 and it is provided with a plurality of segmental portions 2a which are formed at the lower end by axially extending slits 3 which are defined at spaced locations around the periphery thereof. The ring sectors 241 are embraced by a rubber sleeve member 5 which acts as a cushioning element and the assembly is held together by means of a resilient metal ring 6. The ring 6 may be constructed as a tensioning ring and may be adjusted in respect to its width to provide the desired holding force around the exterior of the cylinder 2.

In accordance with the invention, the segmental portions 2a are provided with slots 9 which extend upwardly from the bottom thereof and are defined on each side of a recess 26 formed in each segment 2a. The recess 26 is of a size to accommodate a roller element 10 having axles 11 which are rotatably supported in the slots 9. After the rollers 10 are inserted into the recesses 26, they are retained in position by means of a holding ring 12 which is secured to the cylinder 7 such as by bolts 28. The holder 12 is provided with a rounded lip to permit mounting of the rollers so that they will be easily rotatable when the chuck is used.

The segments 2a are of a dimension and the rollers 10 are arranged so that they will be spaced substantially evenly around the periphery of a circle which is defined by the periphery of the disk 13 and which conforms to the exterior diameter of the side wall of a cover member to be used with the chuck.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, a cover which is particularly applicable for use in association with the chucking head 1 is shown and designated by numeral 30. The cover 30 is of substantially cylindrical shape and has a side wall with a plurality of embossed grooves 15 which form inwardly projecting ribs therebetween. The lower portion of the cover is provided with a flanging 16 which in the embodiment illustrated extends outwardly.

During a capping procedure the cover is laid upon a container mouth and secured by the chucking head which moves downwardly over the top of the cap. The cap causes the displacement of the disk member 13 inwardly as the chucking head 1 descends over the cap. The rollers 10 arranged around the interior of the cylinder 2 in the embodiment illustrated are such that they engage the side walls of the container cover in a rolling-like action without hurting the finish of the walls but they constrain the walls inwardly at the roller areas so that the ribs come in locally deformed engagement with the bead of the container mouth. The flange 16 of the cap will not be afiected by this action except for being brought into a polygonal shape. A cover 30' which has been applied to the container 17 is deformed into the shape indicated in FIG. 5.

In the embodiment indicated in FIG. 6, a cylinder member 2 is provided with segmental portions 2a which are formed by axial slits in the cylinder 3'. In this embodiment, the lowermost portion of the cylinder is pro vided with a shoulder 18 defining a hemispherical recess in each segment for accommodating balls 10 which are retained in position by a retaining member 12 which is provided with a complementary hemispherical recess of an interior ledge portion. The rolling bodies 10 may be made from metal or, in order to lessen wear of the cover material, of a plastic material or rubber. Instead of balls 10, disks may be employed, but in such an event, it is preferable to mount the disks on a yielding wire ring which has an opening in the manner of a key ring and which may be closed or opened in the manner of a key ring and which may be closed or opened to a predetermined extent by the use of spacer sleeves. In some instances, the yielding ring may comprise telescopic interengaging bent pipe sectors and the rolling bodies are advantageously threaded over these sectors with play in order to form a common axis. In the embodiment of FIG. 6, a rubber sleeve 5' is engaged around the cylinder 2 and a resilient retaining ring 6 is engaged around the rubber ring 5.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:

1. A container cap chucking head comprising a cylindrical housing having an opening at one end, a cylinder member arranged within said housing with its axis in substantial alignment with the housing axis, said cylinder member having its outer end divided into a plurality of segmental portions, a rolling body pivotally mounted in each of said segmental portions adjacent the open end of said housing and arranged around the circumference of said cylinder member to rotate around substantially horizontal axes and to roll over and engage the container cap side wall, and resilient holding means engaged around the periphery of said cylinder member adjacent said segmental portions to constrain said portions against outward movement when said rollers are engaged with the container cap.

2. A container cap chucking head according to claim 1, wherein said segments each includes a recess formed in their outer ends for accommodating said rolling bodies, said rolling bodies being inserted in a respective recess of each of said segment portions, and a retaining ring on said housing holding the rolling bodies in the recess of said segmental portion of said cylinder member.

3. A container cap chucking head according to claim 2, wherein each of said segments includes a slot on each side of the recess thereof, said roller bodies each including an axle extending outwardly from each side which is positioned within a respective slot on each side of the recess of said segmental portion of said cylinder member.

4. A container cap chucking head according to claim 1, wherein said rolling bodies comprise substantially cylindrical roller members.

5. A container cap chucking head according to claim 1, wherein said rolling bodies comprise annular disks.

6. A container cap chucking head according to claim 5, including a yielding ring threaded through said disks and yieldingly holding said disks on said cylinder member.

7. A container cap chucking head according to claim 1, wherein said rolling body comprises a spherical ball, said segmental portions having a partial spherical recess defined in the outer end wall thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,305,765 6/1919 Bethel 53-353 1,660,848 2/1928 Rundell 53-344 X 3,122,868 3/1964 Nofer et al 53-344 X TRAVIS S. MCGEHEE, Primary Examiner.

R. L. FARRIS, Assistant Examiner. 

